MoS V Muraleedharan on two-day visit to Oman for boosting bilateral ties

Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan will kickstart his two-day visit to Oman on Monday to reinforce the shared commitment between both countries.

The Union Minister will be in Oman from October 3-4, as per a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

This will be his second visit to Oman and a part of the periodic exchange of high-level visits to reinforce the shared commitment to "ever-growing" relationship between both countries.

During the visit, Muraleedharan will meet Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman and other senior dignitaries and engage in discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

He will participate in a Community Reception and interact with a wide cross-section of the Indian community in Oman, particularly those in health, education, business, and social service sectors, as per the statement.

There has been sustained and frequent exchange of high-level visits between both countries.

In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Oman, while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Oman in 2019. MoS himself visited Oman in December 2020. In recent months, Foreign Minister of Oman Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi visited India in March 2022, and Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion visited India in May 2022.

India and Oman share warm and friendly relations underpinned by historical and cultural linkages and strong people-to-people ties.

As per the MEA statement, the visit will provide an opportunity to comprehensively review the state of bilateral relations between India and Oman and to chart pathways to further deepen and strengthen it.

India and Oman have continued close cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic and maintained high-level contacts. India is among Oman's top trading partners and bilateral trade for the current financial year (FY 2021-2022) so far is almost USD 7.5 billion.